


we have ran a million miles (followed it to where we are)

by wafflesofdoom



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Falling In Love, First Dates, Light-Hearted, M/M, Second Chances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-02 15:11:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11511954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesofdoom/pseuds/wafflesofdoom
Summary: a year on from their break up, robert picks aaron up for their first date.





	we have ran a million miles (followed it to where we are)

Aaron wasn’t sure why he was so nervous, if he was honest. Robert was his  _husband_ , he didn’t know why he was such a bundle of nerves as he got ready for their date, hands shaking as he did up his tie, red material silky between his fingers.

He looked good.

It had been close to a year, since they’d split, and well - the time apart had been good for them. His head was in a far better place than it had been a year ago, counselling doing everything it had never done before, giving him the kind of coping mechanisms he’d never had before.

He felt good, and he  _looked_  good.

Aaron  **knew**  he looked good, in the physical sense of the word - boxing had done wonders for his head, but it had done wonders for his body too, shoulders broader underneath the material of his suit.

_His wedding suit._

It was the only one that fit him properly, these days, but Aaron didn’t mind the significance of the outfit. Their wedding day, for all that had come after it, had been one of the best days of his life, and even if they hadn’t decided to give it a go again, even if they hadn’t decided to give their relationship another go, he’d have held tight to the memories of such a good day.

Aaron couldn't help but smile as he fixed his tie into place, remembering how Robert had done the same thing, after their quickie in the garage. It was so typically them, practically tearing each others clothes off after they’d exchanged rings, desperate to be close to each other, be with each other.

Robert had given him that soft, secret smile he only seemed to reserve for Aaron, as they’d gotten dressed, the cold of the garage floor lingering on Aaron’s skin, it all so reminiscent of their first time, and he’d fixed Aaron’s tie in place, tying it with a practised ease.

Taking one last look in the mirror, Aaron pocketed his phone and wallet, heading down the stairs. Liv was out, over at Gabby’s, far too cool to spend her Saturday evenings with her older brother now she was a proper stroppy teenager, heading for sixth form college and so much Aaron was not prepared to deal with, so the house was quiet.

Quiet, like it had been since they’d split up.

It’s not as though Aaron hadn’t been happy, during their year apart. He had, he’d been happy - he’d been really happy, spending nights in with Liv, or his mum, or Adam, learning to love spending time on his own, but something had been missing.

Robert was a part of every inch of the Mill, even if he hadn’t lived there in over a year now.

Aaron was barely downstairs when the doorbell went, his stomach doing flips as he headed for the intercom, buzzing Robert into the hallway. He felt like a giddy teenager, if he was honest, waiting for someone to come around and pick him up for their first date, but he couldn’t deny how could it felt, to know they were trying again.

Robert, surprisingly, had been the one who needed convincing. He’d been so adamant Aaron was better off without him, it had taken three months and a literal screaming match before Aaron had him convinced they could be good for each other now, that they could make each other happy.

“Hi,” Robert greeted, smile bright as Aaron opened the front door. He was wearing his maroon suit, the one that reminded them of some of the better days of the affair, sneaky kisses and weekends away.

Aaron couldn’t help but laugh, as he noticed the flowers in Robert’s hands. “Do I look like a flowers kind of guy?” he teased, stepping aside so Robert could come in, heart twisting as he noticed the wedding ring still on Robert’s finger.

He hadn’t taken it off, in the year since they’d split.

“I’m trying to do this properly, you know,” Robert laughed, producing a six pack of cans from behind his back. “This was my backup plan if the flowers didn’t go down well.”

Aaron looked at the flowers, a bright mixture of blue and purple and yellow, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t think I even own a vase,” he admitted, realising this was the first time in his life someone had actually gone to the trouble of buying him flowers.

“I’ll keep that in mind, for next time,” Robert grinned, letting Aaron ease the flowers out of his grip, stalks damp under Aaron’s fingertips.

“So this is going to be a regular thing, is it?” Aaron asked over his shoulder, heading into the kitchen in search of a pint glass, sticking it under the tap, wincing as he realised the sink was full of Liv’s dirty dishes.

“Probably should save that kind of talk for our third date,” Robert replied, hovering in the living room, clearly unsure of himself. His name was still down on the deeds for the house, something Aaron had only realised recently, when he’d had a meeting with the bank.

It was odd, to see Robert so out of place in a house that had once been his home too.

“You think you’re getting a third date?”

Robert ducked his head slightly, a blush rising on his cheeks. “I’m hopeful I can woo you,” he shrugged, moving forward slightly, setting the cans down on the kitchen table.

“You’re such a weirdo,” Aaron rolled his eyes, putting the glass of flowers down in the centre of the kitchen table, hands hanging awkwardly at his sides now he didn’t have anything to hold, anything to distract himself with.

He still felt  _nervous_.

“I don’t know why I feel so nervous,” Aaron admitted, honest with his feelings now, or at least trying to be, trying to be open about how he felt, so he didn’t bottle it up anymore, so he didn’t internalise it all until he exploded.

“It matters,” Robert said, brow furrowing. “Tonight matters. So much - so much has changed, for both of us, this year. I’m nervous too, nervous that….” he trailed off, swallowing uncomfortably.

“Nervous that we don’t fit together anymore?” Aaron guessed, stepping a little closer, right in Robert’s personal space now, close enough to smell his aftershave, a spicy scent that had lingered on their bedsheets, on his clothes, until he’d forced himself to wash it away, wash  _Robert_  away.

Robert nodded quickly. “Yeah.”

“I meant it, when I said I’d always love you,” Aaron said, knowing it was the truest thing he felt, the one thing he had always known for certain. “Things might have changed, our lives might be different now - but loving you, that hasn’t changed, not for me anyway.”

“It hasn’t changed for me either,” Robert said, thumbing the metal band of his wedding ring as he spoke. “Do you think we can do it this time? Make it work, even though everything is so different?”

“I think we owe it to ourselves to try,” Aaron said, itching to reach out, and take Robert’s hand in his own, beg him for the wedding ring he knew Robert still had, switching from wearing it on his right hand to having it on a chain around his neck four months into their breakup, a little secret Victoria had let slip one evening, one too many glasses of wine in.

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“No ifs,” Aaron shook his head. “We’re just taking it day by day, remember?”

“Date by date,” Robert quipped, his smile returning to his face. “Speaking of, we have reservations.”  
  
Aaron groaned, not exactly looking forward to sitting in a stuffy restaurant, however much he wanted to spend time with Robert, go on a proper date with him. Robert had insisted though, that they go out for dinner, do all the things they hadn’t done the first time around, or the second.

“It’s the restaurant in town you like, the one that does the nice burgers,” Robert said, as though he could read Aaron’s mind. It was a place they’d found six months into their relationship, a perfect balance between all the things Robert liked, and all the foods Aaron was happy to stuff his face with.

“No fresh start then? No going somewhere completely new?” Aaron asked, knowing it was something he and Robert had done when they’d gotten back together the first time, having an unspoken agreement to avoid all the places that could be tainted by the affair.

“I think we’d have to go to Birmingham for our first date, if we were to have a completely fresh start,” Robert joked, Aaron snorting his agreement. Every inch of the village, of Hotten, was filled with memories of them, good, bad and brilliant. Their lives were so wrapped together now, it was unavoidable.

Aaron wasn’t sure he wanted to avoid it, either. All the things that had gone wrong, they were the things they had worked through, worked past, they were the things they were determined to avoid doing again, the things they’d learned from.

“We’re done running from the past, remember?” Robert nudged, close enough now that Aaron could practically hear his heartbeat, feel Robert’s unsteady breathing against his cheek.

Aaron nodded, heart racing as he got to be so close to Robert again, didn’t have to rely on memory to remember how it had felt to have him close, how his presence used to bring such a sense of calm, and safety, before it had all gone so wrong.

He felt safe now.

Comfortable, and happy, like maybe they could do it this time around.

They could  _definitely_  do it this time around.

“I thought you were trying to woo me?” Aaron asked, deciding to break the silence with a joke, the two of them falling into old habits easily,  _wanting,_ so desperately wanting.

“What, you don’t put out on the first date?” Robert joked, keys jangling in his pocket as he messed with them, still clearly feeling nervous, apprehensive. This date, well - it was their new beginning.

They both wanted it to be perfect.

“Depends,” Aaron smirked, nudging Robert toward the door, toward the rest of their evening and whatever his ridiculous husband (boyfriend? partner?) had planned for them beyond a decent feed.

“On what?” Robert asked, genuinely curious.

“If you’re going to buy me dessert or not.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(It wasn’t easy.)

(They didn’t fit together the same way, not anymore.)

(But different wasn’t bad.)

(This time? Different was good.)

(Different was h a p p y.)

(Happy in a way they never had been before.)

(Happily ever after, if you could forgive the cliche.)

**Author's Note:**

> my hungover self needed to write some self indulgent, hopeful fluff today. hope you enjoyed!


End file.
